Alessandro Rosina: “If I didn`t score from the penalty spot, Huszti would have killed me”

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Zenit`s halfback, who missed his penalty kick against Hajduk but immediately drilled home the rebound, commented on the match.

– It was really important to us to win this match, – said Alessandro Rosina. – We are now definitely number one in our group and we`re guaranteed to make it to the next round in the Europa League. For me personally it wasn`t as easy to play in my top form as I wanted to. And I`m thankful to the coach that he subbed me in the 71st minute – I was so tired.

– Did Spalletti talk to you personally before the game, to get you ready for it in some special way? Everybody was expecting a tough match…

– We knew that it wouldn`t be easy: Hajduk had to win to keep its hopes alive of advancing to the next round. But we played well in the first half, and we ended any debate about the outcome when we scored twice at the beginning of the second half.

– What was the secret of the first half?

– We just played the way we know how. We controlled ball possession, we looked for good options when making passes, and played with confidence. We scored in the first half, and had the chance to score a second before the half. Finally we scored again at the very beginning of the second half.

– Sometimes it looked like you were flying through the Hajduk defenders. How did you manage to go past them so fast? Did any of Hajduk`s defenders cause you problems?

– No, I don`t remember. I always try to do the most for my team. And, being a second-string guy, I train so that I can give it my all when I get into the match. It wasn`t easy for me to play the way I did, and I`m happy that I was able to play the way I did.

– How did you convince Huszti to give you the ball for the second penalty kick? He could of scored a brace.

– Szabolcs hit first, and I asked to take the second one, and he was kind enough to let me take it. If he hadn`t let me taken it, I would have hit him right on the field, probably (laughs). I was lucky that the goalie knocked my penalty kick right back to me and I was able to fix my mistake and score.

– What if the ball didn`t go in the net…

– (Interrupting.) Well, if I didn`t score from the penalty spot, then Huszti would have killed me.